Sparkling dewdrops–
the stroke of the day starts here;
don’t forget to smile.

At Tanahashi Sensei‘s recent Calligraphy: Heart of the Brush workshop at Upaya, in which we covered material and techniques from his book of the same name, Master Kaz taught us that every stroke starts even before the brush reaches the page: with presence, with breath, with a smile–“not a ‘cheese’ smile,” as he says– and with a conscious, arching approach. When that motion does bring brush to paper, each stroke almost always begins (and often ends) with a “dewdrop.”